The present invention relates, generally, to a lock of any type and to an app-enabled smartphone for remotely controlling, e.g., opening and closing, the lock.
In a principal, preferred embodiment the present invention relates to a lock for a trigger-operated gun that is installed on the gun in a position behind the trigger to prevent the trigger from firing the gun.
Mechanical gun-locks are designed to be installed on the gun in a position behind the trigger to prevent the trigger from firing the gun. These gun-locks use a mechanical key that can be easily duplicated, and the locks themselves can be compromised by means of a master key or a lock pick.
Furthermore, such gun-locks can be opened by anyone in possession of one of the keys. With such gun-locks it is not possible to restrict the use of the gun to the gun owner or to some other person who is licensed or otherwise authorized to use the gun.
In another preferred embodiment the present invention relates to a lock for a door, such as a deadbolt lock with a lock mechanism for moving the deadbolt in and out of the locked position. The lock employs a battery or mains-operated electromechanical device for moving the lock mechanism in response to an electrical control signal.
Deadbolt locks of this type are well known for example from U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,931,315 and 9,098,953 assigned to Schlage Lock Company, LLC. The electrical control signal is generated when a numerical passcode, such as a four-digit code, is entered on a lock keypad or into an app-enabled smartphone that, in turn, wirelessly transmits a passcode signal to the lock. When the entered passcode matches one of the authorized codes previously stored in either the smartphone or the lock itself, an electronic circuit within the lock produces the electrical signal causing the electromechanical device to open the lock.
This known lock has the drawback that a four-digit, or even a higher-digit passcode is readily hackable. It also has the disadvantage that a person authorized to unlock the lock may forget the passcode or, conversely, may have shared it with a friend or family member who, in turn, has shared it with one or more unknown parties who can unlock the lock.